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<title>Performance Review (FKA The Trial) by MyKaleidoscope</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22457431">Performance Review (FKA The Trial)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyKaleidoscope/pseuds/MyKaleidoscope'>MyKaleidoscope</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Half-Life</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Nightmares, One Shot, Post-Half-Life 2: Episode Two</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 16:41:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>621</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22457431</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyKaleidoscope/pseuds/MyKaleidoscope</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Gordon hasn't had it easy. It's not going to get any easier. But maybe it will be okay.</p><p>This fic takes place in a post Ep 2, post-Combine (mostly?) reality.</p><p>Rated teen for ever-so-mild sensuality.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gordon Freeman/Alyx Vance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Performance Review (FKA The Trial)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gordon Freeman loathed performance reviews. They filled him with anxiety and dread, even when he’d had an outstanding quarter. Somethng about having to defend his work, regardless of his accomplishments, made him feel resentful and a little helpless, for he knew his superiors would always manage to find some fault, no matter how small, no matter how much he’d accomplished.</p><p>He waited in the  cramped office, lab coat wrapped around him like a protective shell, tenting his hands in anticipation. Whose office was it, anyway? He wasn’t sure. It was so small, and so very dark. He couldn't see to the edge of the desk before him. His chair creaked as he shifted uncomfortably.</p><p>Blinding lights flashed on overhead with thunderous booms. Gordon jerked nervously, realizing he wasn’t in an office, but in a lecture hall. He sat just in front of the lectern, with chairs facing him from every direction. He heard an array of footsteps, and people began to shuffle in and fill the seats around him: Drs. Kleiner and Magnussun, Dr. Mossman, Eli Vance. Then came Barney and Alyx, Uriah. Dr. Breen followed, along with Gordon’s brother, John, escorted by two security guards and a scientist he didn’t recognize. They took their seats around the lecturn. None of them looked at him. </p><p>Then the lecture hall became a courtroom, and Gordon froze as a hooded figure approached the lecturn. He could make out a pale, bluish glow beneath the robes, and he knew what man would be his judge. </p><p>The jury spoke. “You let me die, Gordon. You let my father die," Alyx said, her voice a monotone. Eli nodded gravely.</p><p>“You left me behind. Left us all behind,” Barney said. </p><p>“You were my brightest pupil. Now look at you,” said Dr. Kleiner. </p><p>“I had no doubt you would fail," Magussen added.</p><p>“The Freeman murdered countless Vortikind!” croaked Uriah.</p><p>“You have destroyed so much,” Breen mocked. “Tell me, Dr. Freeman, if you can. What is it, exactly, that you have created? Can you name even one thing?”</p><p>Gordon opened his mouth, to protest, but no words came forth. There was nothing for him to say.</p><p>The hooded figure regarded the jury. “How do you find...the defend-ant?” the familiar voice intoned. </p><p>In perfect unison, they responded, without emotion, “Guilty.” There must have been a thousand voices, and as Gordon peered into the darkness, he could see that the room went on forever, each seat filled with a navy-clad civilian, a vortigaunt, a zombie crying out for help. There were rebels, medics, people vaguely remembered from his past, all chanting together: “Guilty, guilty, guilty!”</p><p>“It is time, Dr. Freeman, to receive your sentence. Are you prepared?” The figure removed its hood. Cold eyes regarded Gordon with a remorseless gaze.</p><p>Gordon sat upright in bed, gasping for air. The room was dark and cool, lit only by moonlight. “Shh,” a gentle voice urged from beside him. “It’s just another nightmare. Come here.”</p><p>After taking a moment to center himself, Gordon slipped back under the covers, finding her body warm and soft beside his. He wrapped his arm around her and let his hand wander, tracing the line of her breast, lately so deliciously plump and tender. He caressed her side and breathed in her sighs. He let his hand rest on her belly, still firm and taut, now touched with a wonderful roundness. </p><p>“Dad would be over the moon,” she said, more wistful than sad, and it was just what he needed to hear. </p><p>He sighed and nuzzled her neck, letting the dream fade back into the hell from which it had come. It was behind them, now. The trial of his life lay ahead. He hoped he was ready.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just completed Ep 2 for the first time and I am smitten with my OTP.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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